Murder in Winter

Group chat: getting somewhere?

I stood on tip toe to gently kiss Alexander as he did the same; his hand reached over to entangle our fingers. Then he said goodbye as he bent down and retrieved his bag, which he slung over his shoulder and began jogging towards the car park, where his mum was waving from the open door, her silky black hair draped over her shoulder. I waved back as I watched the pair reverse and slowly drive down the countryside road.
I made my way to my bike and stuffed my blanket and other items that I couldn't throw away into my basket and hopped on. Then I began pedalling home, scanning the snowy sides of the paths for nothing in particular. Only just managing to keep concentration on the oncoming traffic, I drifted into thought over Ivy. It was her favourite time of year: winter. And it was nearly her birthday. My brakes screeched and I came to an immediate halt; behind me a couple cursed, as I'd stopped suddenly in front of them.
I didn't care.
It was Ivy's birthday in three days.
Three days.
She was brutally murdered just five days before she turned fifteen. Instead she's due to be buried then. I pondered over this for five minutes before shaking my head and continuing my journey...
Later, I texted the 'detectives' group chat. Okay, let's catch up on recent information.
A few minutes later, Summer replied to my message. The only suspects from our form are Lia and Michael. Frankly, I'd say Michael's the more likely of the two.
But he seemed so convincing when he said he didn't.
Yeah, but it's Michael. True, I guess.
I was chatting to Mara, who was waiting for her older sister to finish the maths thing. Melody texted. Mara is in 10B. She was there on Monday, and has just about the best memory ever. She remembers everyone from her class being on the field all lesson apart from Azzy and Jay.
I overheard those two talking about Ivy yesterday. I messaged. Let's just say they weren't exactly being the nicest about her.
What did they say?
That Ivy creeped them out. I replied to May.
What if they both committed the murder? They are best friends after all. Alex suggested.
Doubtful. What's their motives? Hartness argued.
And Jay's such a nice guy! May added. She so has a crush on him. I thought, along with the idea that she's right. It wasn't his character. But...then again, neither was Crystal, nor Tazmin and Saffron. Yes, they were mean, but... Murderers?
Well, Azzy liked Danny, right?
True, good point Alex.
And Jay...is Azzy's best friend?
Well, that's pretty weak!
And as we all know from books, it's always the best friend who's the killer.
Nope, fifty percent of the time it's the husband or wife.
"The other fifty percent of the time, it's the guy with the mohawk-he's the killer". I see you with those Total Drama references! Summer finished. I laughed to myself when I got a new notification. Danny had sent me a message on Instagram.
I clicked on it, and was transported to a new page. The message made me have to reread it twice: You looking into Ivy's death?
Why? I thought. Does he have any information?
Yes, why? I replied, before returning to the other chat.
What about Lia? Summer asked. She's new. What could her motive be?
I knew Lia didn't want me to say, but...it was haunting me.
I don't know. Melody's text popped up.
I hardly know her Alex typed.
She's only been here two days. Summer added.
She's a cutter.
No one typed anything for a bit, as if everyone on the chat was having trouble processing the information. Understandable.
She's a what? April asked, probably confused.
A cutter.
WHAT?! May texted. That's horrible! Why?
I don't know.
How do you know? Hartness questioned.
I grabbed her hand, when we played tag. I wrote, tears threatening to fall from the thoughts that were forming in my mind. And I saw it.
I saw the scars.
What did she say about them? Hartness interrogated me.
She said "don't ask."
I said "don't tell."
ARE YOU DUMB? Her voice rang in my ears. You should have stopped the game or done something to find out what happened!!!!!
Okay, chill out. Summer interrupted.
Lay off her for a bit and let her explain. Alexander agreed.
I'm sorry. I typed. I was just so surprised by it and so horrified that I didn't want to know any more. Send.
But if anything she could've used your/our help!
Okay, what's this got to do with Ivy? Alex prompted. I racked my brains but I couldn't think of anything.
Maybe Ivy found out and made a...mean comment about it? Melody suggested, but I knew that couldn't be it.
Ivy couldn't have had time to say anything. They were together for less than an hour, and no, there wasn't anything to do with primary schools. They went to completely different schools.
And that doesn't sound like Ivy May reasoned. No text messages popped up for a while, so I returned my phone to its charger and pressed the off button, when suddenly it vibrated, sending a wave of movement through my bed. It was Alex.
You know what we haven't done yet?
We had missed something? I doubted, swiping right and texting back what?
Looked in to the murder weapon.
What do you mean? May questioned.
Yeah, what's so special about a plain old compass? Hartness added. Explain.
Exactly! A PLAIN compass. I still didn't understand, so I simply texted a question mark. Omg guys, where can students get PLAIN compasses.
...I still don't get it.
I do. Hartness interrupted. What he means is...it's one from the library!
Of course! They're only-what?-fifty pence from there.
THANK YOU HARTNESS!! I reckon the murderer will've had to buy a new one. All we have to do is ask the librarian.
Suddenly, a message came down from the top of my screen. A message from Danny.
I want to help avenge my girlfriend.